Page 40 of Midnight Rain

Duncan scrubbed a hand over his hair. Cormac didn’t like seeing the guy so stressed. “He said he wanted to help Hayden secure the property, but I know he wanted time to himself. He possessed those powers for two thousand years, and now… It would be like having our abilities stripped away.”

Cormac couldn’t fathom not being able to shift or having heightened senses. Sure, he could still fight, but his cheetah and senses were a part of who he was.

He clasped Duncan on the shoulder. “Izel is still in integral part of this family.”

His brother’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Making sure he’s included in any decisions we make will help him feel not so helpless.”

“Whatever it takes to help him cope with what he’s going through,” Cormac said.

Duncan chuckled. “I can already see a change in you. If I’d known that finding your mate would loosen you up, I would have tracked Austin down sooner.”

Cormac glowered. “I’ll still knock heads if any of you act like idiots.”

His brother pushed away from the wall. “Wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” He nodded at Cormac’s hand. “We need to have a meeting at breakfast to figure out the best course of action.”

Cormac watched Duncan walk down the hallway. The best course of action would be to find Jaycee and end him. He had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy. Jaycee was unhinged and determined, but Cormac was just as determined to keep his mate safe.

When he walked back into the room, Austin was sitting up, his purple hair sticking out everywhere. Cormac’s heart squeezed at just how much the human had come to mean to him.

Cormac realized he’d only been living half a life before finding his mate.

“Who was that?” Austin yawned and rubbed his eyes.

They’d stayed up until three in the morning making love. Cormac could no longer think of it as fucking. Not when he cared so deeply for the guy.

“Duncan.” Cormac sat on the side of the bed, hating the fact that he was about to ruin Austin’s morning. “He found this on your car.” He held up the device.

“I don’t know what that is.” Austin took the device from Cormac’s hand and looked it over.

“It’s a tracking device.” Cormac waited as Austin put the pieces together.

Austin looked up at Cormac. “Are you saying Jaycee has been tracking me?”

“It looks that way.” He pulled Austin into his arms. “Duncan and I think he planted that on your car before you moved, maybe even before then.”

“At the beginning stages of his obsession,” Austin said. “That was how he found me when I moved.”

“Yes, and the only reason he approached your mom for your number was so he could contact you.”

Austin threw the device as if it had burned his hand. “He’s here, isn’t he, in town?”

“We think so.” He rubbed his hand up and down Austin’s arm. “I don’t think it would be wise to leave the house until he’s caught.”

Austin was shaking slightly as he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. “When is this nightmare going to end? I swear I didn’t do anything to lead him on. I made it clear that I just wanted to be his friend.”

Cormac rested his chin on his mate’s head. “I’m not an expert, Austin. I can’t say why he chose you. All I can do is keep you safe and end him. We’re going to get Sheriff Harper involved. Maybe he can tell us why Jaycee targeted you.”

“I just want my life back.” Austin jerked away from him, slipped from the bed, and ran his hands through his already disheveled hair. “You have no idea how terrifying it is or the mental fuck something like this puts you through. I just want him to forget I exist!”

“We’re going to keep you safe,” Cormac kept reassuring Austin. “Hayden is outside now, in his cheetah form, doing a sweep to make sure Jaycee hasn’t come onto the property. We’re not going to let our guard down.”

“Do you think he would come here?” Austin looked wide-eyed at him.

“From what you’ve told me, I think he’ll stop at nothing to have you. We’re having a meeting at breakfast, and when Sheriff Harper gets here, I need to you to give me, and us, as many details as you can remember about how Jaycee. His looks, what he drives, anything that can be helpful in catching him.”

Austin snatched his phone off the nightstand. “With all the craziness going on, I didn’t think about everything downloading from the cloud when I got my new phone. I should have the few pictures we took when we first started hanging out.”

Cormac saw the moment Austin found them. His breathing became labored, and his features pinched. When he turned the phone around, Cormac got his first look at the guy.

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